Dark Endings
by lloth
Summary: Issues between Alec and Logan come to a head in the most deadly way. Max is stuck in a situation where she may have lose one to save the other. *Not for Logan lovers*
1. Chapter 1

The necessary move to Terminal City had been hard on everyone. The transgenics had settled well in to an old hospital building but movement was restricted, accommodation cramped and resources constantly short. Max had unintentionally fallen into the position of team leader. It was in her genetics to lead. A few other alpha's made themselves obvious from among the ranks, including Alec, and they were currently leading raiding parties collecting, food, medicine and other amenities. For all that Max had tried to flush Manticore from her system and being, she had to admit the transgenics were surviving on their training.

But Max couldn't help but thinking Logan was taking the whole scenario especially hard. He was restricted in how long he could spent in the city walls due to radiation levels, he was living in squalor and Eyes Only's soldiers of fortune were no longer at his beck and call. It had been months since the last eyes only pirate streaming video. There were even rumours among the Normals that Eyes Only himself was a transgenic and had been subtly 'disappeared' during the riots.

He was calling again. Max sat in her makeshift office, her clunky mobile at her ear. There was no noise coming from the receiver but Max was sure it was him. Nothing as creepy as heavy breathing or grunts. Just a moment or two of silence then a gentle click as the phone was hung up. Max hung up the phone with a sigh.

"Telesales again?" Came a voice from the door, Alec strode in and took a seat on the one armed swivel chair in the corner of the room "Tell them we could be doing with some double glazing and a new roof, this one's leaky as hell."

"Whatever." Max sighed, not wanting to approach the subject of Logan "Did you get the supplies we were after?"

"Done and done." Alec smirked, "But I have to say Maxie it's getting harder. They're posting sector police patrols on all major shipments, Jess took at bullet to the shoulder." He began swivelling on his swivel chair, "She's fine, just a graze but we'll be left holding up 7/11's if they up their security much more."

"Get smarter." Max ordered, "We've got more people arriving daily. People to clothe, people to feed."

"Sure thing Maxie." Alec laughed, "I think I've just about figured out how out how to sweat Cola and shit ham sandwiches."

"Not interested." Max said sternly, "Now if it was red wine, you'd have me interested…" She pressed her fingers to her temple.

"I'll get on it." Alec replied, standing leaning on the desk. He spun Max's phone in circles on the varnished desk, "Maybe you should get out for a bit. Go for a ride. Give Logan a visit." He suggested, "He might know what to say if he actually saw you."

"Maybe." Max sighed, "But not tonight, I'm backed up to the wall." She shuffled papers to emphasise the point.

"Okey Dokey." Came the reply, "Catch you later."

Max watched Alec go then set back to work. Her mind uneasy about how to deal with Logan. Things were definitely less… complicated with their necessary distance. There was a part of Max that was happy to let their situation lengthen the gap that had appeared over the last year. But she felt she owed him more. Maybe she would give him a visit. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight she had three new transgenics to record and find accommodation for. A family nonetheless which, although lovely, came with new housing and feeding problems. The next raid would have to include diapers and formula milk.

Around 1am Max finally slumped sleepily into her tiny bedroom. A rickety bed and a hospital dresser it's only furniture. But something was there that didn't belong, someone had been in her room. Sitting along on the dresser was an unopened bottle of red wine and a lonely glass. A note was stuck to the bottle.

Max smiled for the first time that day.

Shat this especially for you,

Alec


	2. Chapter 2

The night was black, the streets were empty and Max's worries slipped by like the wind as her bike roared down the road. Alec had been right, it was nice to get out of TC for a while, away from the constant pressures of leadership. Everyone looking to her for all the answers when she really had none to give.

A few years ago her biggest worry had been what colour to paint her nails. And now, well, now everything had gone sour. White really knew what he had been doing when he released information about transgenic population to the panic stricken public. Now he was sitting pretty with his freakoid cult friends while the public purse dealt with the problem. The problem of whether or not a test tube baby deserved to live in civilised society.

But none of that really mattered while going 70 on the freeway.

Max breathed in the cold air deeply wishing she could just stay in this moment forever. Her initial decision to go visit Logan now seemed so much less appealing. More awkwardness. More stress. And she really didn't know what to say. She knew he felt abandoned and rejected but so much had changed in such a short period of time, even without the influence of the virus. It would be so much easier just to avoid him and avoid the subject.

Max's bike screeched as she turned off the freeway and sped towards Logan's current residence. She owed him more than that, she thought, a little time out her day was nothing to give on the scale of things.

A few minutes later Max pulled up outside the squalid house where Logan had recently moved. It was a run down house in a run down street where even cops would think twice about entering. As Max dismounted she heard a distant gun shot and the sound of breaking glass. A sobbing woman with no shoes and a bleeding lip brushed past Max and rushed down a nearby alley.

Not quite the standards Logan had been used to, Max thought. She pushed her bike into an overgrown bush in the garden and preyed it would be there when she returned.

Max walked up to the paint chipped door and knocked.

No answer.

She walked around the side of the house and looked in the windows. Every one was boarded up with what looked like thick metal. Very sensible in this neighbourhood. She walked back to the door and opened the letter box.

"Hey, its me." She said, "Open up."

She stood, arms folded, waiting for a reply. There was none.

Oh well she had tried. There was no way she was hanging about an empty house in the hope that he tuned up. She had done her duty.

Just as Max was about to get back on her bike, she heard a metal clanking noise come from the doorway. Then another. And another. Slowly the wooden door then creaked open a few inches.

"Max." Came a voice from inside, "Is that you?"

"Either that or the tooth fairy." Max replied impatiently. A pause, "You gonna invite me in or what?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." Logan replied from the darkness of the building. The door opened further and Max walked in.

Logan looked awful. His skin was grey, his hair dishevelled and he had noticeably lost weight. Max's heart immediately softened when she saw him. He closed the wooden door then a metal one behind it and directed Max to a sofa.

The house was clearly in better nick on the inside than the out. It was open plan with areas clearly separated into a living space, computer corner, a kitchen/diner and a gym area with hanging punch bags, bench presses and free weights. The only thing that made it feel quite depressive was the metal covered windows and door. It reminded Max of the basement cells back at Manticore.

"Nice pad." She said genuinely.

"It's no penthouse suite." Logan laughed seating himself at his computer and pushed some buttons. The door sealed itself automatically, "But the neighbours are more interesting."

"I bet." She smiled. She paused then shifted about in her seat uncomfortably. She really hadn't thought about what on earth she was going to say to Logan when she got here.

"So, uh, what you been up to." She asked, "I've not heard from you lately."

"Oh this and that." Logan shrugged, "How are things settling in TC."

"Getting there." Max said, smiling.

"You're looking well." Logan said sadly.

"Yeah, you two." Max lied in reply.

There was another silence.

Suddenly Logan looked animated and stood up, "Do you want a drink. I've got this vintage bottle of Grivot that I've been dying to try, but it's not the kind of thing you drink alone, you know." Logan pulled out two crystal glasses and half filled them both, handing one to Max, being very careful to avoid physical contact. Logan took a sniff and a sip. He closed his eyes, savouring the taste.

"Sure, I'll have a try." Max said and took a sip. Unfortunately her face reacted before she realised. Logan looked as though he'd been shot between the eyes.

"You don't like it?" he asked.

"It's fine." Said taking another drink and forcing herself to smile.

"At 500 dollars a bottle, you'd want it to be more than fine." Logan complained, "But I suppose wine is all a matter of taste."

"I just don't have as... refined tastes as you " Max remarked putting her glass down with no intention of having another drink of what she considered to be a particularly bad vinegar, "Alec gave me a three dollar screwtop the other day and it went down a treat. I'm just a common girl at heart."

Logan's face suddenly turned very serious, "Well next time you visit I'll have to remember to pop out to k-mart and get you a bottle from the bargain bin." There was no trace of humour in his voice, it was filled with venom, "Maybe then I'll be able to compete with the romantic lothario that is Alec."

Max rose from her seat, immediately filled with regret that she had even mentioned Alec's name. She was never sure if Logan still believed that she and Alec were together and had avoided the subject out of awkwardness. "Listen Logan, I'm sorry…"

Logan turned to his computer and punched in some keys. The metal door clanged as it unlocked. "I'm very busy Max," he said with his back to her, "As I'm sure you are."

Max slowly walked to the door.

"I'll call you." She said.

"Yeah sure." Came the reply.

As Max walked out the door and it closed automatically behind her.

"Well done Max you idiot." She sighed to herself as she pulled away on her bike.


	3. Chapter 3

It hadn't gone well with Logan but at least the chaos of TC provided a welcome distraction. For the next few days Max had been so busy dealing with new arrivals, inventories, shower rotas, rationing and the emergency quarantine of an X5 on heat, she had hardly had a moment to spare a thought over the disastrous encounter. The blank phone calls had stopped and so the matter had completely slipped her mind.

It was, of course, Alec who suddenly brought the encounter back to the forefront of her mind.

"So how'd it go with lover boy?" He asked from a doorway as Max was walking down the long hospital corridor. Max stopped and walked into the room where Alec was playing pool with a male transgenic spliced with a porcupine. His quills currently lay flat on his back as he chilled out in the rec room. A couple of lizard people (Max really couldn't tell the males for the females) were sitting in a hot tub in the corner of the room dozing in the heat.

"That's none of your damn…" Max stopped as she re-examined the scene, "A hot tub? When did we get a hot tub? How did we smuggle a hot tub up through the sewers?"

Alex potted a ball. "I have ways and means Maxie." He smiled smugly, "The people have to have some entertainment. Especially the lizards. They get all narky if they can't have a bath once in a while. And to be honest…" he hushed his voice, "They start to stink if they don't get one too." One of the lizards opened his or her eyes and gave him daggers before closing them again.

"But a hot tub?" Max exclaimed again, "And you should really let me know when you're bringing things in Alec."

Alec aimed at a ball and missed. The Porcupine's quills leapt up in delight. It slapped Alec on the back and laughed. Alec hung up his cue with the realisation that the game was over and walked over to Max. "We've got a hot tub Max." He said, "And a video game machine in the canteen. And a driving range on the helipad."

He continued back to the original remark, "So it all went well with Logan then eh? The only reason I was asking is that he's been in touch."

Max rubbed her temple in frustration. Clearly Logan is blaming Alec and decided to call him up and give him grief.

"What did you say?" Max asked, not sure on how Alec was taking the whole 'pretending to be dating' thing. He had been furious when he found out, but so far Max was sure that he hadn't let the cat out the bag, though she wasn't sure why. She wondered if a ranting Logan may have been the last straw for him.

"I said yes." He said.

Max paused, it was clearly not the response she had been expecting.

"To what?" She asked.

The porcupine strutted confidently up to Alec with an outstretched hand. Alex mumbled something under his breath and pulled out a 50 dollar bill, handing it to the transgenic. The porcupine took it and walked away.

"Yeah," Alec continued, "He called me up all cheery and nice, and asked me to do a job on Saturday. He didn't give me much details but he said it was up my alley and would have a good bit of profit on the side. I presumed you two must have got things all stitched up when you were round the other day."

Max was more than a little confused. Why would Logan be so jealous and aggressive about Alec the other day, then phone him for a job. His temperament had been so up and down lately he was hard to predict. Either he had finally come to the realisation that he and Max were truly over, or it was a really important job. She felt a little insulted that she hadn't been asked to do it herself.

"He kinda still thinks we're… you know… together." Max said uncomfortably, "You sure you want to do the job. It might be a bit awkward."

"Work is work Maxie." Alec said. He walked behind Max and gave her shoulders a tight squeeze mumbling in her ear, "But it's good to know that we're still an item. I'll be sure to give him all the gory details if he asks, you little panther."

Max turned and walloped him in the chest. He held it defensively smiling. "You know I love it when you beat me." He laughed, tuned heel and walked away.

When she was sure he was gone Max smiled, shook her head to herself and walked the other way.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days.

Three days since Alec had disappeared to do some mysterious job for Logan and never returned.

Max was straddling her bike and racing down the road. For once it was not a pleasurable ride. The streets were empty bar a few homeless bums walking about with plastic bags tied round their heads and shoes to keep them dry. The road was wet and slippery. Dark, fat rain pounded off the pavements reflecting Max's mood.

Max had watched uneasily from her window on Saturday as Alex had confidently strode from the hospital apartment, all in black and a backpack on his back. She had a bad feeling. A knot in her stomach that just wouldn't shift. She had convinced herself that the feeling was in her head. Or even just general stress and lack of sleep making her feel unwell. She had ignored it and gone about her business, but arranged regular paths past Alec's room just to double check he hadn't returned.

The feeling of unease had steadily grown as the Saturday passed and Sunday was beginning to wean.

Max continued to ignore the feeling. She herself had been involved in more than one mission that had turned sideways and taken more time than expected, usually hours, but occasionally in to the next day. The thought had brought back to memory the time that she and Alec had been stuck in a tiny cupboard for hours when procuring the original copy of Starwars episode 7.

But come Monday evening Max had been unable to shake off her growing sense of panic. She had attempted to call Logan for hours, but the phone simply rang out.

It had finally been at the approach of midnight that Max decided she needed some answers and had raced her bike through the torrential storm towards Logan's house.

When she arrived the derelict street was bare, even drug dealers and prostitutes were more sensible than to brave the weather.

Max shivered against the cold and knocked at the door. "Hey," she yelled as pleasantly as she could muster, "Hey, Logan it's me."

The door creaked open and Max walked in, shaking the worst of the wet from her clothes as she did so.

"Hey Max," Logan smiled from across the room, he was working out at his punching bag in the gym area, wearing a sleeveless vest and commando pants. His hands were bandaged round the knuckles to prevent him scraping them as he pounded the bag with his bare hands, "I wasn't expecting a visit." He laughed as he continued to work the bag, sweat dripping off his nose, "I would have bought some decent wine." He joked.

Max suddenly felt a wash of relief. The man was cool and collected, he didn't look like he was about to break the news of Alec's unfortunate demise. She took off her sodden jacket and walked over to the gym, jumping up to sit on the pummel horse. She shrugged, "Was just passing." She said.

Logan looked her up and down with a raised eyebrow, "Uhu." She said sarcastically, "In the worst weather of the year."

Max paused.

"Yeah, well I was also wondering if you're just about done with Alec. I need him for a raid tomorrow and he's not come back yet."

Logan laughed, "I'm still busy with him." He smirked. He began to slowly unwind the bandages from his hands, "But I think I'll be done with him soon." Logan walked over to the kitchen. He dabbed a white towel on his forehead and neck then poured himself a glass of water.

Max shifted uncomfortably, swinging her legs, "Sure thing." She said, "As soon as you can."

"Are you missing him?" Logan asked intensely.

Max suddenly felt quite trapped. She instinctively looked about the room for exits and noted there were none. The large metal door having closed itself behind her.

"Like I said." She said, "There's a mission…"

Suddenly Max stopped. Her transgenic eyes catching the thing in the room that didn't belong. That was just a bit wrong.

Blood. A small patch of blood, still wet and shimmering on the punch bag.

Max stood up and walked over to it. She touched it with her fingers and examined it on her fingertips, warm and wet. She felt the feeling drain from her face as she double checked Logan's fists which were bruised but uncut.

"Logan?" She said now with a note of accusation, "Where is he?"

Logan looked like a man possessed. "I told you." He said matter of factly, "I'm still using him."

The blood on the punch bag was beginning to spread into the pattern of a butterfly and the realisation hit Max like a truck to the stomach. The blood, it wasn't from the outside.

Max grabbed the punch bag, turned it and pulled at the zip. Instantly a rope-tied body fell from the bag's interior and hit the floor with a sickening wet thud.

"Alec!"


End file.
